„A new school year, a new beginning,“ this elementary school teacher in Beijing’s Haidian district writes beautifully on the blackboard in two colors. The floral pattern is meant to make the start seem all the more friendly. Elsewhere in the building, people are scrubbing and disinfecting to keep classrooms hygienic during the ongoing pandemic. Some first-graders in the German capital Berlin would envy the young Beijing kids for their clean and well-equipped schools.